


Always with the Blue Eyes

by arokitty



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Crack, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 16:37:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17564129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arokitty/pseuds/arokitty
Summary: Seto's ability to draw the Blue Eyes White Dragon, even when he doesn't want to, is astounding.





	Always with the Blue Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> I was joking with my friend Anjie about this and then I had to write it.
> 
> This is somewhere on the borderline between canon compliant and canon divergent, I don't even know.

"Is this your card?" Atem places the card he drew from the deck face up on the table.

With furrowed brows, Seto is staring where Atem's hand lingered just seconds ago. He's not sure what he's trying to accomplish — comprehending what just happened or willing the picture on the card to change — but his eyelid feels close to twitching from the tension.

Something told him that agreeing to join Atem for a card trick was a bad idea. Not even the possibility to duel his rival afterwards will be worth it. Especially when the Pharaoh from Ancient Egypt has the gall to make him choose from a deck of French playing cards only to present the Blue Eyes White Dragon from Duel Monsters in the end.

"Are you mocking me?" Seto doesn't even try to keep the edge out of his voice.

"What?" Atem looks at Seto in confusion before directing his attention to the card lying between them. "What the— How did that get here?"

Seto must commend Atem's acting skills, but he's not in the mood for this kind of joke. His tone is dry and borderline sarcastic when he notes: "Haha, very funny."

"No really—" Atem manages to sound genuine as his gaze wanders between Seto and the Blue Eyes White Dragon on the table— "I didn't put it here."

With a sigh Seto leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. "Just drop the act."

Instead of apologising for the bad joke, Atem ignores Seto. His focus is still on the card and Seto is about to accuse him of being rude and putting on a really terrible show when he turns around the Blue Eyes White Dragon to reveal the backside. Instead of the brown and dark blue of a Duel Monsters card, it has the same desaturated red and white chequered pattern as the French playing cards Atem brought for his trick.

"That's odd." Atem places his free hand on his chin while he turns the card over a couple more times. "I don't remember the Duel Monster cards getting a new look."

Seto is a skeptic by nature. Yes, he has seen a lot of strange things to the point that he's willing to believe there is another person inside Yugi who was sealed into the Millennium Puzzle 3,000 years ago and sometimes takes over Yugi's body. But this is where he draws the line. "Or you just had a Blue Eyes White Dragon printed to fit your deck of playing cards to pull this childish trick on me."

There's no offence in Atem's eyes when he lets the ominous Blue Eyes White Dragon card rest face up on the table and peeks up at Seto. Neither is there guilt or shock at being found out, though. He regards Seto with a blank expression that makes it impossible to read him. Damn his poker face!

"That sounds like something _you_ would do."

Ouch, that stung! Seto tries to brush it off with a huff. It's a shame he can't think of a comeback, he'd love to have the last word. He'll just act like it's beneath him to reply.

Apparently done with inspecting back and front of the Blue Eyes White Dragon apparition, Atem leaves it alone and picks up the deck of playing cards. It seems like he's thumbing through them without any real idea what he's looking for.

"What was the card you picked?" Atem wants to know as he skims through the cards a second time.

Seto doesn't want to indulge Atem any further in this silly game. Yet the prospect of a proper duel compels him to linger. The sooner Atem gets what he wants, the sooner they can get to what Seto wants. 

"Ace of spades." The annoyance is audible in Seto's voice but he never had the intention of hiding the fact that he doesn't want to be here unless they're outwitting each other in a game of Duel Monsters.

Instead of getting his wish now, Seto is stuck watching Atem go through a deck of plain playing cards. And again. And again. Finally Atem even starts organising them by suits on the table. That kind of thing isn't even entertaining when watching someone play clock solitaire. Seto is surprised how durable his patience is turning out to be.

"It's not there," Atem concludes after putting down the last card. "The ace of spades is missing."

"Oh, come on." Seto rolls his eyes and leans forward to inspect the results of Atem's sorting. The ace of spades is indeed not among the cards on the table. He isn't so easily fooled, however. "Where are you hiding it?"

Atem doesn't respond to the underhanded accusation. He just squints at the cards before he says: "Check your Duel Monsters deck."

By now Seto is hanging on by a thread called defiance. As if to prove a point, he pulls out his Duel Monsters cards and starts placing one after the other face up on the table. Had he brought his suitcase with his entire collection this would turn into a way longer endeavour so he's glad he left it at home. He's not even looking at the cards he's turning them over, because he knows his deck like the back of his hand. There are three Blue Eyes White Dragon cards in it — the only ones in existence — and certainly no ace of spades.

That's what Seto thinks until Atem puts down his hand and picks up the last card Seto placed on the table. As he presents the ace of spades to Seto he asks: "Is this your card?"

Seto is stuck between gasping in shock and huffing in annoyance. He snatches the card from Atem's hand and turns it over, certain that it was just hidden it in Atem's sleeve. Instead of the chequered pattern that Atem's French playing card set has, he finds the oval blue shape framed by brown tones typical for Duel Monsters.

Frustrated, Seto drops the card on the table and collects the rest of his deck. He can't believe Atem is making him do this! He can't believe he's going through his cards, counting all of them and inspecting every monster, magic and trap card. He can't believe he's coming up with only 39 cards and two Blue Eyes White Dragons. He can't believe he's doing the same thing a second time and getting the same result.

"What the hell did you do?" Seto glares at Atem before putting the switched Blue Eyes White Dragon and the ace of spades side by side. It can only be some elaborate trick. To hell with it, at this point he's even willing to believe that Atem is using some kind of magic on him. "Oh, I get it! This is one of your illusions!"

"No, it's not!"

"Easy for you to say."

Atem just shrugs as if he's giving up. That doesn't change anything about the two cards lying between them whose front- and backsides don't match. Seto stares at them in disbelief and lasting frustration.

"Let's try one more thing," Atem suggests.

Seto is tired of this charade, desperate for anything that either makes Atem drop it or explains what else is going on here. He follows Atem's instructions without vocal complaint, though he doesn't refrain from giving Atem a few glares. First, he puts away his Duel Monsters deck save for the Blue Eyes White Dragon cards. The two normal ones he places hidden, the third one remains face up with the ace of spades in the centre of the table. Then he collects the remaining 51 playing cards and assembles them in his hands. The whole time Atem is just watching, leaned back and arms crossed.

"Now pick one of the playing cards," Atem orders and Seto obeys with another glare across the table.

The top one is the obvious choice and Seto places it face up on the table. Another Blue Eyes White Dragon.

Seto gasps then hurries to turn over the two Duel Monsters cards he kept out. They were both Blue Eyes White Dragons when he put them down, but now one of them is a three of diamonds. His jaw drops.

"Wow." Atem leans forward, arms still crossed. The surprise and awe in his voice sounds so genuine, Seto feels ready to believe that he has nothing to do with whatever is happening. "I sense the Heart of the Cards is really strong in you, young Padawan."

Yeah, yeah, the Heart of the Cards. Atem has been going on about it ever since they first met, but— Seto blinks and looks at Atem. He blinks again, processing the words Atem just spoke. This is astounding — no, this is offensive! His initial bafflement fades in light of the anger spreading inside him.

"How dare you make a pop culture reference now, you ancient spirit!" Enraged, Seto throws the deck of playing cards at Atem. The attack has little effect on him. Unfazed by the cards scattered all over him and in his near vicinity, he breaks out into laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr: <https://arokitty.tumblr.com/>


End file.
